After Rusty let us see him with Lily in broad daylight on May 30th, he disappeared until 9 PM on June 3 when he showed up three and a half miles away for a brief meeting with Jewel’s 11-year-old daughter Mikah (Shadow, June, Jewel, Mikah). Moving on quickly, he connected with 7-year-old Becky (Shadow, RC, Bow, Becky) two and a half miles away at 10:15 PM, and they disappeared into the darkness together, not to be seen until Rusty joined Mikah on June 7th and was seen following her on a back road (photo).
Maybe next year we’ll see if Lily, Mikah, and Becky have cubs with rust-colored fur.
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Other excitement were visits by big birds. First it was a trumpeter swan spreading its wings to shake them near the beaver lodge across the lake. Then it was a pair of them flying toward me. Out of curiosity, I looked up their wingspan—80 inches. Later an eagle landed closer than usual, making me look up its wingspan. The book said the same! That made me wonder how they compare in weight. One bird book said bald eagles average 9.6 pounds, another said 10 pounds. For trumpeter swans, books said they are commonly 23-26 pounds with some males getting up to 38 pounds. The numbers told me why eagles are super gliders while swans have to beat their wings on the water a long way to lift off.
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A nice chipmunk mom here has three babies that have adult colors but are only two thirds her size. The picture shows one waiting at the entrance to their burrow for mom to arrive with her cheeks full of hazelnuts, which she did. What makes this mom a favorite is that she is so trusting that anyone can lightly pet her as she stuffs her cheeks with food for her babies.
Thank you for all you do.
Lynn Rogers, Biologist, Wildlife Research Institute and North American Bear Center